Novel Coronavirus

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so that gets compared to restaurants, where they have been no documented cases of transmission but they are closed

the little shops closed but the Walmart’s and big boxes open.

That is one reason I'm thankful to be in BC. Small shops are open. They have to show they are following safety guidelines and I believe they may be subject to public health inspections. I much prefer to support my small local businesses where possible. Restaurants are also open with restrictions.
 
Actualy, Lastpointe, the army and the reserves were very much called into action, at some expense, last spring. My son was one of those who was working at quarantine centres and was gone for 3 months. The quarantines were a federal item, and were under federal control, so army could go in.

Again, they cannot throw the army into provinces that don't ask for them. If you want to see a real outrage, send the armed forces into Quebec without being asked.

The app is on my phone. Your app is on your phone. You likely are not encountering people with exposure. Are you upset that you haven't encountered anyone with exposure?

I had forgotten about the people flown home and out in army bases. Thanks for reminding me. That adds to the list of things they did well

and no, they can’t throw the army into provinces. But they could have worked on that as a stop gap meansure for provinces. But all that depends on the federal government meeting together with the provinces and trying to figure out what to do and ho should do what. That we know they didn’t do

i am not concerned I have never run into someone with Covid. I was making my comment based on an article that spoke of how many times the app had been down loaded. It was in the thousands, not millions and certainly not 25 million or so to match the number of phones out there

you sound like you are offended that I want the government held to account. I do. I don’t want them to skate on this by saying look how bad things are in the USA.

By the way. Currently the USA has vaccinated more than 33,000,000 people. 10%. Last I checked we were just under 2%

trudeau is sincere. He sounds so empathetic. Of course that is just his way. He sounded empathetic when he sadly kicked two strong female cabinet ministers out of caucus too
 
And yes Northwind, I live in a small town so all of our shops are small. Our kids live in a very trendy area of Toronto where they too shop in small shops. But of course none are open except for pick up. I know it will change. I know we will Figure this out. I know my young friends will get back to work.
 
Most of our stores are open - for awhile only 'essential' ones were (whatever that was supposed to mean!) There is a small sub group who refuse to mask but most do, and the stores have the best protection for staff that is practical. I only shop if it is essential to do so.
 
There is a small sub group who refuse to mask but most do,

Our Health Unit is totally on the mask thing. Businesses get tickets if they allow in customers without masks. Fortunately, we don't have to police the "half-masked", the people who remind us why birth control is not always effective. In all fairness, it's often a male big nose/big beard type problem.

We also have a legal obligation to provide to police, if they are called to investigate, to prove that we have never had in excess of 87 people (including all staff) in the store at any time. There is a person stationed where they can see both entrance and exit, and is provided updated staffing information adjustments half-hourly as necessary.
 
In the great conflict and controversy of whether Covid 19 is real or not ... will millions slip away in denial that they were affected?

Thus evidence that many are out there in the greater realm ... beyond those all wrapped up in self-defenses.
 
Why the WHO won't call it the 'U.K. variant', and you shouldn't either I was wondering when this would come up in the media. We need better terms though. How often do you hear people say SARS-CoV-2? COVID is one word when the 19 is dropped. I'm not even entirely sure how to say B.1.1.7 any virology I had things like that were just written and were little bits of courses. I haven't heard it come up in the news verbally other than variants or using the location phrasing. I would guess it's B one one seven but I'm not 100%. As more variants come about I don't think the numbers from that system are going to catch on for casual discussion.
 
I also heard in Britain they call it the Kent variant as it was discovered in Kent

agree , I have wondered hen they we going to stop talking about U.K. variant, South Africa variant, Brazil variant........ they were very clear not to call it China Covid
 
I just noticed on our county web site a vaccination plan from our health unit. I assume all Ontario health units have the same sort of specific plan. Ours lists how many people fit into various groups. Worth reading

in phase 2, included are adults over 60 as well as adults under 60 with asthma, diabetes, COPD, cancer. Those seemed to be the only particular diseases mentioned

our Area has bad winter storms which were mentioned as issues, though I figure we will be through winter before vaccination starts on a big scale
 
in phase 2, included are adults over 60 as well as adults under 60 with asthma, diabetes, COPD, cancer. Those seemed to be the only particular diseases mentioned
Well, one of those 4 applies to me so I checked my health unit. Their plan still just says "At risk groups" (or similar) - TBD pending ICES request in the column that shows estimated population size for that group. No definition given which may be the request that's pending.
 
Interesting. Our county plan is pretty complete and felt like it was based on provincial guides. Maybe not. They also list in our county how many people each of the various groups include. Though they don’t have numbers for adults with asthma or diabetes.......
they list how many pharmacists, retired nurses, retired doctors. That they are setting up mass centers to vaccinate. That they will arrange rides for those who need them. Comments about people without phones......

they really seem to have run through contingency plans. And. Of course due to winte storms and wind storms we get a lot of power outages so they have plans for that too. Good to read it


now We just need some vaccines.
 
Re lockdowns......

I feel I have to point out that lockdowns mean different things in different countries...

In Australia lockdowns are used when the health authorities consider that tracing ceases to be effective.

This is what it meant for me. I was allowed outside to exercise for an hour. I could shop, go to a chemist or doctor whenever it was necessary. It was suggested I wear a mask whenever I couldn't maintain social distance - particularly inside. There were strict limits on visiting other households.

So, I missed out on going to the cinema, lunching out with friends, church, etc. (But most of these activities were helped with zoom, skype, etc)

So what? For the sake of my fellow citizens it wasn't a big deal!

All but essential workers had to work from home. We introduced a jobkeeper and a jobseeker programme - which meant folks (apart from essential services) were subsidized. Schools were closed -but only for as long as considered necessary.

Compared to many similar countries, Australia has handled this pandemic well -check out the statistics.

Now I'm not saying we don't have our share of nutters -bleating on about their personal freedom etc who did their best to cause havoc - but, by and large our citizens responded well to our government's direction . There were a few instances when police enforcement got out of hand - but they were also provoked with violence.

My biggest concern is the slow availability of vaccinations. We haven't even begun yet. .........
 
PP, what were the restrictions around "essential shopping", like groceries and alcohol?
In reality it was fairly loose. I did my grocer/alcohol shopping at my local corner shop (never more than 6 customers at a time when I shopped there once a week.) Also, once a week at a supermarket early in the morning once a week.
That was me. Many of my friends seemed to shop several times a week, and nothing happened to stop them.....
 
The other interesting thing we have to factor in is "hemisphere". This sort of disease is a fall-winter disease. You're currently mid-summer, of course.
Yes, but apart from serious quarantine issues in the state of Victoria, Australia coped really well in our last Winter.

I put that down to two main reasons.
Firstly, our Winters are comparatively mild - you can easily enjoy walking outside in our mild Winters

Secondly, being an island continent, we take quarantine far more seriously than most countries. Self isolation for returned travelers was soon seen as the mistake it was. It didn't take too long for us to have anyone who wanted to come here have to, not only be tested frequently for covid, but it was mandatory to stay in a designated quarantine hotel room for 14 days. Those that had covid were sent either to health hotels or hospitals, depending on the severity of the illness.
It's harsh to be locked up in a room for 14 days (food , medicine supplied of course) but it has kept community transmission down well.
Most returning Aussies were agreeable to these conditions - because they were travelling from countries that had far more cases than Australia.
 
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